1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to agricultural implements, and, more particularly, to mounting assemblies for disc blade hangers of agricultural tillage implements.
2. Description of the Related Art
Farmers utilize a wide variety of tillage implements to prepare soil for planting. Some such implements include two or more sections coupled together to perform multiple functions as they are pulled through fields by a tractor. For example, a cultivator/harrow is capable of simultaneously tilling soil and leveling the tilled soil in preparation for planting. This implement includes a cultivator that is towed by a tractor, and a harrow that is towed by the cultivator. One type of tillage implement can include a frame tube supporting a gang of disc blades.
Units are known to use top and bottom plates or castings with long bolts to secure the disc blades to the frame. Long bolts tend to stretch and loosen in the field. Moreover, plates flex or bend and hardware will loosen. Eventually, disc blades become loose and move on the frame, or hardware will fatigue and fail. An arrangement is thus known which uses the top and bottom (flat) plates and long attaching hardware.
What is needed in the art is a mounting mechanism for connecting a frame tube to a disc blade hanger such that the mounting mechanism withstands rigorous application.